Watch: Shah Rukh Khan once again proves he is the most humble owner in IPL

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The co-owner of Kolkata Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan has once again won hearts with his noble gesture towards the differently-abled fan Harshul. After Kolkata Knight Riders defeated Kings XI Punjab in the second game at the Eden Gardens, Bollywood superstar went to Harshul and kissed him.

He was mighty impressed with the way his franchise has started its IPL campaign in 2019. SRK was also present during KKR's first game against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Chasing 219 runs to win, KXIP were rocked early by rival bowlers. They lost their openers cheaply and even last match hero Sarfaraz Khan also perished on 13. Mayank Agarwal (58 off 34) and David Miller (59 not out off 40) tried their best but couldn't lead their team to win. KXIP finished their innings on 190/4.

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Feature Cricket

Bruce Yardley had a short but successful career

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Bruce Yardley, the former Australian off spinner who died on Wednesday at the age of 71 had a short but successful Test career. It lasted just five years but Yardley packed a great deal into that brief period. He was the side’s leading spin bowler from the late seventies to the early eighties and even as Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, Rodney Hogg and Len Pascoe dominated in the wicket taking act Yardley had his share of scalps which resulted in an impressive tally of 126 wickets from 33 Tests at 31 apiece. Six five wicket hauls and one ten wicket haul embellish these figures and what made him an even more competitive cricketer was the fact that he had four half centuries with a highest score of 74.

Yardley came into the Australian team at the age of 30 in the wake of defections of the leading players to Kerry Packer’s World Series Cricket. He made his Test debut against India at Adelaide in 1977-78 and straightaway made his presence felt. Bearing the brunt of the bowling in the absence of an injured Thomson Yardley wheeled down 43 overs for a bag of four for 134 successfully preventing the Indians from reaching a formidable victory target of 493. India were all out for 445 and what caught the eye most was the fact that all his dismissals were frontline batsmen – Dilip Vengsarkar, Anshuman Gaekwad, Chetan Chauhan and Mohinder Amarnath.

From then on Yardley was a regular in the Australian side and on the tour of the West Indies in 1978 he attracted particular attention – with the bat. In the second Test at Barbados he hit a whirlwind 74 against Andy Roberts, Joel Garner and Colin Croft, reaching his half century off just 29 balls. It remained the fastest fifty by an Australian for 39 years till David Warner broke the record by getting his half century off 23 balls against Pakistan in 2017.

Yardley toured India in 1979-80 playing in three Tests and picking up ten wickets. He enjoyed his best season two years later when playing at home against Pakistan and West Indies he took 38 wickets in six matches including four five wicket hauls and his only ten wicket haul in Tests. His good form continued in the series in New Zealand when he picked up 13 wickets in the three Tests.

Yardley remained Australia’s lone frontline spinner in the Ashes series in 1982-83 taking 22 wickets in the five Tests. Later that season he had a match haul of seven wickets in the one-off Test in Sri Lanka but was inexplicably not considered thereafter. However he remains Australia’s best off spinner in the period between Ashley Mallett and Nathan Lyon.

Feature Cricket

The Classic Backtrack/Claptrap

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There is a reason why the game struggles for credibility for its vanguard. When the custodians of the game are at crossroads, changing stance depending on which side of the fence the popular, even if it is erroneous, consensus falls on, it is no wonder that cricket is sometimes allowed to run riot as it has in the case of Ashwin and the mankading of Jos Buttler.

The cricket world loves the batsman. According to popular consensus, he provides all the entertainment. By that reckoning anything the batsman does is forgiven, including when he leaves the bat out too far, misses the ball entirely and lives to face the next one. However, the bowler is the worker, the one who toils for that one perfect (and sometimes not so perfect) delivery that fetches his team the crucial wicket. Thereafter, when a team collapses because of a bowler’s prowess, the match is one sided. When the batsmen are blazing, cricket is thriving.

It is these kinds of perceptions that have created this kind of insinuation on bowlers and it is sad to see that the status quo is being perpetuated by some of the greats of the game, particularly those that are now in a position to have a voice and speak their mind for millions to hear. What is even more aghast to hear them speak is that while they condemn Ravichandran Ashwin, their own words are in contrivance of what would constitute the spirit of the game.

By the general reckoning of the spirit of the game, the on field umpire has the final say. If, in his opinion, he deemed Ashwin’s action legal and Jos Buttler rightfully mankaded, then perhaps even with the acceptable margin of error, the legends of the game should accept the umpire’s verdict and move on. For them to not only entirely ignore the man who took the decision but also, settle scores with fellow commentators and others who disagree with their own opinion, which one dare say, could have been entirely different had it been done by one from their own quarters – something they are accusing those that have a different opinion of doing, is, also, against the spirit of the game.

The disbelief over the overturn of the MCC is enormous even though it is not surprising. There is a reason why the Marylebone Cricket Club and (MCC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have not had quite the kind of respect they would have liked to have command. Some of the recommendations made by the supposed custodians of the game have seemed out of touch with the reality of the sport and sometimes claptrap in terms of reviving particularly the interests of Test cricket.

Instead of suggesting that the play should have ended with the umpire’s final call, the MCC first supported the mankading rule in Ashwin’s favour only to lose their own credibility by suggesting they had to review the footage again before deciding Ashwin’s action might not have been entirely legible. What they have inadvertently done is undermine once more not only the rule but also, the role of the one man who has a say in how the game goes – the umpire.

News Cricket

AB de Villiers feels Jasprit Bumrah is not a perfect bowler yet

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Royal Challengers Bangalore will take on Mumbai Indians today at Bengaluru. AB de Villiers is going to be crucial for the team. He has made four half-centuries in last five IPL innings at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium. And he is all set to take on Mumbai. AB has made light of India's premier bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. He is known for playing mind games and this might be another ploy for him before the game.

"Bumrah is a very good bowler but it's also possible to get hold of him," De Villiers said on the eve of the match. "It's hard every single game but you look at the strengths and then you look at the weaknesses and realise no one is perfect. It's easier on this ground with not so big boundaries. All the bowlers, no matter who you are, are under pressure here."

"We've got a little bit of better balance this time around. More options as well. It's an exciting cricket team. What I like is you still see old faces as well. It's not a complete washout of a new team. Same faces but also bit more strength in the middle order. I think our balance is a lot better," De Villiers added.

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Muttiah Muralitharan, the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) bowling coach, is enjoying his association with the franchise. He was known for his exceptional bowling display in international cricket and there was a time when he was unplayable across formats.

In a picture posted by SRH player Shreevats Goswami, he is seen having dosa in breakfast. "Breakfast view cannot get better this morning murali sir killing the dosa and how," Goswami captioned the photo.

Muralitharan's picture went viral and attracted hilarious reactions from fans.

Sunrisers were defeated by Kolkata Knight Riders by six wickets in the opening match of their IPL campaign in 2019. However, David Warner looked in good touch as the left hander scored 53-ball 85 to help his side post 181/3 on the board in 20 overs.

Andre Russell, Nitish Rana and Robin Uthappa played crucial knocks as KKR registered their first win of the season.

News Cricket

Kevin Pietersen plays gully cricket with kids in Bengaluru

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Former England skipper Kevin Pietersen, who is in India as a commentator for the ongoing edition of the Indian Premier League, was seen playing cricket with kids in Bengaluru. "Just stopped on the side of the road to play gulley cricket in Bangalore. Always wanted to do it! Today I did it!," Pietersen posted on Twitter.

He had played for Royal Challengers Bangalore, Delhi Daredevils and Rising Pune Supergiant in the Indian Premier League.

He recently spoke in favor of Jos Buttler, who was 'mankaded' by Ravichandran Ashwin during an IPL match between Rajasthan Royals and Kings XI Punjab in Jaipur.

"I don't see many talking favourably about what happened, leaving it up to him and leaving it up to the individual. He (Ashwin) is always going to be liable with it now because it is such a big topic and it is going to be talked about for a long time."

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R Ashwin was once again at the receiving end during the ongoing Indian Premier League. He was brutally trolled by fans for making a captaincy blunder during his team's match against Kolkata Knight Riders. Ashwin, who gave away 47 runs from his four overs, was having tough time to contain the rival batters in the last overs of the innings.

In his quest to keep Russell quite, Shami got better of him for three in the 17th over. However, Russell was recalled by the umpires after the intervention of third umpire. Ashwin had only three fielders inside the circle instead of four and hence the delivery was declared a no-ball.

This mistake proved costly as Russell scored 48 runs. The damage was done as KKR finished 218/4 and won the game by 28 runs. Ashwin who was lambasted for 'mankading' Rajasthan Royals' Jos Buttler, faced more flak after the blunder against Knight Riders.

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Chennai Super Kings have once again demonstrated why they are the best side in the history of the Indian Premier League. After defeating Royal Challengers Bangalore in the opening game of the season at the Chepauk, MS Dhoni's troops thrashed Delhi Capitals by six wickets at the Feroz Shah Kotla in New Delhi.

CSK, who have won the league thrice, are the defending champions, having defeated Sunrisers Hyderabad in the finale of the last edition. The way they have played in the ongoing season, their fans are sure of seeing them romping to fourth IPL title victory.

Kedar Jadhav was celebrating his 34th birthday when Kings emerged victorious against Capitals. After the victory, Jadhav’s birthday was celebrated in style by his teammates. The cake was smeared on his and during the course of cake cutting ceremony and joyful moments, MS Dhoni called Suresh Raina as a ‘Harami Launda’.

News Cricket

Virat Kohli a few runs away from achieving remarkable feat in IPL

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The Indian Premier League has taken the intensity to another level in the ongoing season. From few controversial calls to close finishes, the cash rich league is living up to its top billing in the world. Virat Kohli's RCB will take on Mumbai Indians at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.

In today's game, Virat Kohli has a chance to become second batsman after Suresh Raina to touch 5,000-run mark in the cash rich league. The right hand batsman is just 46 runs away from reaching this landmark. Suresh Raina, who plays for Chennai Super Kings, had achieved the feat in the opening game of the season against Royal Challengers Bangalore on March 23.

The outing against the defending champions didn't panned out positively for the Bangalore based team. Batting first, they were dismissed for a below-par score, which was easily chased down by the home team.

RCB are still waiting to win its maiden title in the league, and Virat Kohli is confident of a better result from last time, where they finished in the bottom half of the table.

After losing the first game because of batting failure, Virat would want to see his batters among runs at the iconic M Chinnaswamy Stadium.

News Cricket

Picture from KKR vs KXIP game ignites Mankad debate once again

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Mankad was once again the topic of discussion during last night IPL game between Kolkata Knight Riders and Kings XI Punjab. Although, R Ashwin was not the talking point but his team had its involvement. During Kings XI Punjab's batting, Mayank Agarwal was seen standing outside the crease at the non-strikers end in one of the overs bowled by Andre Russell.

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra pointed out that it was bowlers’ mistake for missing the clear opportunity to run-out Mayank Agarwal.

"Missed Opportunity....more bowlers need to start running batsmen out at the non-striker’s end. It’s a 22-yard pitch...don’t let them make it 20 yards. #Unfair."

Former Aussie speedster Mitchell Johnson also shared the picture on his twitter handle. "#bowlersfault #checkbowlersfrontfootfornoball," he wrote.

Earlier, Ashwin's mankading act had the cricket fraternity divided. While some backed Ashwin, most of the former players lambasted KXIP captain.

The law justifies mankading. Law 41.16 states: "If the non-striker is out of his/her ground from the moment the ball comes into play to the instant when the bowler would normally have been expected to release the ball, the bowler is permitted to attempt to run him/her out".

News Cricket

South African legend comes out in support of R Ashwin

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After Rahul Dravid, South African great AB de Villiers has come out in support of Kings XI Punjab's captain, Ravichandran Ashwin. Ravi Ashwin made the headlines when he mankaded English international and Rajasthan Royals' opener, Jos Buttler at Jaipur. AB de Villiers, however, also expressed his sympathy for Jos Buttler.

“I felt sorry for Buttler because he wasn’t trying to steal a run, and Ashwin did nothing wrong because he was operating within the laws,” the Bangalore star wrote in his column for the Times of India.

“It’s still a grey area, and Law 41.16 needs to be clarified. Either running a batsman out at the non-striker’s end is legal or it isn’t — can somebody please decide,” he added.

Royal Challengers Bangalore started off their 2019 IPL campaign with a terrible loss against defending champions, Chennai Super Kings. Today, they will take on Mumbai Indians at their home ground.

News Cricket

Quinton de Kock reveals the way Mumbai can beat RCB

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Today, Mumbai Indians will clash with Royal Challengers Bangalore at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. Both Mumbai and Bangalore started off their IPL campaign with defeats, so it will be a chance for them to make amends.

Quinton de Kock, who represented RCB last year and is in Mumbai's side this year, revealed the one threat that his side would need to conquer if they want to win the tie against the Kohli-led RCB.

“AB being AB, he is a big wicket for them. I think if we get him out pretty early, we stand a good chance of doing well in the game. So we have spoken about it — about how we’re going to try and get him out and hopefully it comes off tomorrow,” Quinton de Kock told reporters on the eve of the match.

“Otherwise, we just hope he (de Villiers) makes a mistake,” he added.

Mumbai are known to be slow starters and they will need to get into their groove quickly. “Any big tournament around the world, everybody wants to get off to a good start. Coming into this game, knowing we haven’t won a game, so it’s a big game for us tomorrow. We need to get going with a win and hopefully build some momentum, get things rolling for our campaign this year,” he said.